returning to simple living

Well, we have completed two weeks of school now and already the cold season has started in our house. We used to think that a childhood spent rolling in the dirt and cleaning horse stalls would give the kids a little extra immunity boost (and maybe it does), but jamming them into a school packed with germy kids seems to undo the good of what the kids like to think of as their “protective layer of dirt”.

I keep honey and lemon at work all year and offer it whenever someone complains of a sore throat (and it just dawned on me why I was voluntold that I am the first aider on site and am now needing recertification again). Lemon, of course, has Vitamin C and immune boosting properties. Honey coats your throat, is a natural antibacterial and acts as a cough supressant. And if you add the warming properties and tummy soothing help of ginger, you have a home remedy for colds, coughs and sore throats. I’m not saying this will cure what ails you, but it will make your throat feel better, warm you up nicely and boost your immune system.

You can make yourself a mug of honey lemon ginger tea, or you can keep a jar of the ingredients pre-mixed in the fridge like I have on hand. I made a jar of it up last night after making a cup of tea for the small squeaky kid, who was squeakier than usual.

You can find a similar product to the pre-mix that I made in Asian or Korean markets, called Yuja Cha. It’s like a citrus marmelade, but is used for hot teas or mixed with cold water for a summer drink. You can easily make some up yourself and because honey never goes bad, is antibacterial and a natural preservative, this will keep for months in the fridge. The components will break down over time and become more marmelade-like. I’ve read that some Korean households keep topping up the honey and lemon and keep the jar going continuously.

Honey Ginger Lemon Tea Mix

1/4 to 1/2 of an organic lemon

fresh ginger

honey (raw)

Thinly slice the lemon and peel and thinly slice or mince the ginger (I used between 1-2 tsp of minced ginger, you can use your judgement about how much you’d like). I cut the slices into quarters to help them break down faster in the honey. Arrange the lemons (take out the seeds first) and ginger in layers in a clean, sterile jar and cover with honey. Refrigerate until needed. Use a large tbsp of the mixture in a mug of hot water to make tea.

Or if you just want to make yourself a quick mug of tea, you can use these measurements:

Honey Lemon Ginger Tea (1 mug)

1 tbsp freshly grated ginger

1 tbsp lemon juice

1 tbsp honey

Put ginger in a small bowl and pour 1 cup boiling water over it. Allow it to steep for 5 minutes. Strain into a mug and add in lemon juice and honey. Add more honey, to taste, if needed.

To further kick it up a notch, add a shot of whisky and a pinch of cayenne. If it doesn’t cure what ails you, it might at least help you go to sleep. And no, I didn’t put whisky in squeaky kid’s tea.

Aha! My husband LOVES tea and he gets sick twice as often as I do. Granted, he works around a bunch of germy co-workers and I’m stuck in the house all day. I’m always trying to find some “natural” way of pushing him through a cold rather than give him medicine, poor guy. This is PERFECT! And sounds delicious too. Down with therma-flu! ha! ha!

Perfect timing, my littlest has the crud right now, protective dirt is all gone and preschool is full of germs. I love that you can just keep topping it off. (and yes, we’re still finishing off a bucket of beautiful organic raw honey my parents got me from Mexico) don’t tell the other vegans, they may come after me with pitchforks 😉

The cold bug has hit me as well, but for me I think it’s less about who I’ve been in contact with than the hourly change in temperatures that I’m not used to. Honey, tea and lemon has been a staple since I was a teen and just what I’m drinking right now.

I actually have this every day!!! I am a nurse and swear by this…it also settles upset tummy, gets sick kids to go to school instead of staying home and drinking it all day to avoid an example lol…and gets my metabolism going first thing…love this post! !!

Your jar of honey and lemons looks really inviting – I could drink Honey, lemon and ginger anytime and as I haven’t had a cold for years I need a different excuse to make some. I always take Tissue Salts and Vitamin C at the first sign of anything, and as a precautionary measure I have a quick Dettox swipe of all door handles, key board and telephone in my office every Monday morning (probably the opposite of your theory – but not sure my co-workers would be tolerant of me rolling around in dirt!)

I think I need some help with this… ( i know that it’s so simple that I should be able to make it work)… but I made this up ahead of time and put into a clean canning jar in the fridge. I thinly sliced my lemon and layered lemon, grated ginger and honey until jar was full. My confusion is I thought that it was supposed to ‘gel up’ a bit. Instead of thickening the honey has turned very runny. My jar is not much thicker than juice. Any advise or suggestions will be greatly appreciated.
P.S. I Love your blog 🙂

Thanks! And I’m sorry, I’ve edited it now to say use only 1/4 to 1/2 lemon – to save yours, take out some of the lemon slices, pour off some juice if you are able, and add more honey. I found that too, after a while in the fridge and meant to change the post.

Wow that was strange. I just wrote an really long comment but after I clicked submit my comment didn’t show up. Grrrr… well I’m not writing all that over
again. Anyways, just wanted to say excellent blog!

Thank you so much for the recipe. I’ve seen similar posted on other blogs, but it just said to mix the 3 in a jar, but nothing about what amounts. I just made some this evening, and am very excited to try it!

Delicious and healthy. I always rolled my kids in the dirt too to give them immunity! Imagine how many more colds they might have had if not! But it’s the germy stuffy classrooms that get us all, all the time! Love to you all 🙂

My whole house is contaminated right now. My dad is coughing up a lung and my younger brother stayed home from school because mom thinks he might have strep throat. YIKES. Anywho, I bookmarked this for later since I don’t have the ingredients. But I DID manage to find a lemon ginger tea among my mother’s store of teas.

Just made some of this as I have the flu. I made a single cup for me to drink right away and it tastes great and I am not a big fan of anything that tastes strongly of ginger. Question, how long are you supposed to wait for the fridge version before you can use it? I am assuming at least a couple of days for the ginger to be infused in the honey/lemon mixture.

I just discovered your site. Very nice, I will be visiting again. The honey recipe is nice, brings back memories of what my Grandmother gave us in the 50’s when we were sick with cold. She had all the ingredients you have listed but she also had a garlic clove in her jar. We would always feel much better the following morning after the hot tea and honey mixture.

Heidi – I finally made some of your lemon/ginger mix today. I just came back from South America and I managed to catch a cold right before the 15 hour plane ride! Argh! Needless to say, the plane ride didn’t help and I’m totally congested now. I added a few mint leaves I had hanging around. Whenever I get sick, my lungs seem to get the worst of it and mint seems to help me breathe better. Thank you!

always get caught by cough when winter starts… and unfortunately it lasts long.. even this time after taking some extra precautions, its day 2 only., still caught by dry cough and hav mucus issue. is this ginger honey lemon too helpful in my case too.?

I don’t know if someone asked before, but I could use a bit of help. So, if I understood correctly, the honey will be ginger & lemon – infused for the tea. If i want to make another instant version, like put in a jar grated ginger, lemon juice & honey, what would you think the proportions would be ? Thank you !

If you want an instant version, I would make it one mug at a time, like the second recipe listed above. I’ve never tried making it with powdered ginger and lemon juice, so I couldnt guess at the measurements for you.

No, it doesn’t have to be raw honey. However, raw is unpasteurized and retains all of its nutrients and anti-bacterial properties. It is the best option, but not the only one. Any honey will help the mixture taste good and soothe a sore throat.